Aran
by Lupine Lad
Summary: An interpretation of the story of Samus before the events of the original Metroid, intended to be accessible to non-fans but still enjoyable for fans. A tragedy on an obscure space colony has singificant long term consequences that shape the destiny of the galaxy.
1. The Raid

Chapter 1: The Raid

The remote colony, established on a planet known only by the ID number K-2L, was decidedly ordinary. The people living there were ordinary, most of them blue collar workers and housewives, with a smattering of engineers, doctors, teachers, police, and tradesmen, all competent enough to keep the colony running smoothly but none possessing exceptional skill. The ore that was the colony's main export, though respectably profitable, was also relatively ordinary. It was on this ordinary colony that an ordinary miner by the name of Rodney Aran relaxed on his porch and enjoyed a cool beer after a hard day's work, watching his young daughter play in the front lawn while they both waited for his wife Virginia to finish preparing dinner.

Virginia called to Rodney informing him that dinner was ready. Having acknowledged his wife's summons, Rodney shouted out to his still frolicking daughter.

"Samus, time to come in and wash up for dinner!"

The child stopped what she was doing and turned to run to her father, her clear blue eyes coming into view from beneath golden blonde bangs that probably needed to be cut some time soon. Rodney smiled to himself. It had been a good idea, naming her after the beautiful yellow flowers that lined the countryside of Virginia's homeworld. Even now, he could tell she would grow up to be a heart-breaker. As Samus arrived at his feet, he lifted her up and brought her inside to prepare for dinner.

Dinner in the Aran household was almost always a quiet affair, save for the occasional protest from Samus at being made to eat this or that nutritious but less than palatable food item. This day, however, they were interrupted by a loud blast that sounded like it had come from the far edge of the compound, followed quickly by two more like it.

"What was that?" gasped Virginia in surprise.

"I don't know," replied Rodney, unlocking a nearby cabinet and retrieving from it a beam rifle that they kept on hand in case of intrusion by dangerous wildlife. "Maybe some animal got bold and tried getting into the food stores by the mine entrance. Maybe something worse. I'll go see what's going on, try to help out. Stay here with Samus."

Virginia nodded, and after kissing her good bye, Rodney went outside and joined others from the neighborhood who had reacted similarly. Not a word was spoken as they tensely approached the area from which the blasts had rung out, and from which more were proceeding, drawing slowly closer. After a few minutes, the site of disturbance came into view. An all-out battlefront had developed near the South wall of the colony, the colonists being steadily pushed back by an armored force of about fifty foreign-looking bipeds.

"Shit! Raid party!" exclaimed one of the group of approaching colonists. Each of them ran for the nearest available cover and began to fire upon the invading force. These armored raiders were barely slowed down by all but the most concentrated fire, however. Spiteful, they shot not only back at the defending colonists, but also at the houses that lined the street down which they progressed.

Rodney fought furiously alongside his fellow colonists, fearing what would become of his wife and daughter if these things came anywhere near their home. He did his best to aim in the same direction he saw others firing, and eventually the rest of the party caught on to the same tactic and began to heavily concentrate all their fire on the same targets. One, two of the marauders went down, dead or merely stunned it wasn't clear. Hope began to reemerge in Rodney's heart, especially as he glanced to the side and noticed a new development in the progress of the battle.

A couple of the local Galactic Federation police officers had equipped themselves with light armor and heavier beam rifles from the police station. These new weapons were giving the invaders significantly more trouble, and it seemed the colony was to be saved, albeit at great cost.

Rodney was grazed on his side by a beam from one of the invaders. He collapsed, propping his back against the wall that had been serving as his cover, in pain but not disheartened, for he believed that the monstrous invaders would now be repelled. He looked to the side, where the battle raged on, the colonists now slowly gaining ground. Three cheers for the boys in blue from the Feder-but now a shadow passed overhead, far too fast to be a cloud. Again it passed, slower this time but still lightning quick. Rodney looked toward the sky, and on the next pass he turned white. Dear God, what was that thing?

Virginia Aran sat clutching little Samus in the dining room, quivering with each new explosion that rocked the compound. At one point, it had seemed that the position of the beam fire had stopped progressing, but now it was advancing again, if anything faster than before. Virginia decided that it would be safest to hide in the basement of the house. Though it was possible that they might be trapped if the house collapsed, going outside seemed to be a lethal proposition, and at least in the basement there was a chance of avoiding the notice of whatever attackers now stormed the colony. As she got up to move downstairs, however, a great force ripped into the top of the house, and a falling support beam sent her skidding across the floor, stunned. Samus, having been dropped in the process, rolled in a different direction. As Virginia regained awareness, a second blow to the house caved in part of the wall and the ceiling supported by it, enveloping Samus in a pile of heavy debris beyond the reach of her mother.

The newly formed hole in the side of the house revealed the agent of the powerful blows that had caused the damage. Atop what was left of the caved-in wall perched an enormous winged reptilian creature. Its appearance resembled that of a dragon, and it possessed a prehensile barbed tail that it held poised to strike. Virginia glanced toward the pile of debris that housed her daughter, who was still breathing, thank the heavens, then returned her gaze to the monstrous creature before her. Her faced hardened with resolve. She knew what had to be done.

From within her prison of cracked plaster and splintered beams, Samus watched her mother back slowly away from the dragon-like monster that loomed over her, picking up a stray piece of debris in the process. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, she threw the chunk toward the creature's face, turned, and ran to the door. The beast batted the missile away with its clawed forelimb, and made its way across the dining room at an alarming speed for a creature so large. With one lightning fast strike of the barbed tail, Virginia Aran collapsed to the floor, dead.

While Samus was indeed terrified by the nightmarish events that played out before her, she never once screamed. Instinct took hold of her and urged her to remain silent, despite the powerful urge to do _something _to relieve the freezing sensation that filled her veins. Even when she witnessed her mother's death at the hands of the vicious beast, the only sound she could force through her fear-paralyzed throat was a barely audible squeak. Upon finishing the deed, the monster let forth a bloodcurdling screech that dually suggested a frenzied bird and a crying jackal. This proved to be too much for the poor girl, and the fear that lacked an outlet through her voice expressed itself instead through a sickening wet sensation that spread through the lower parts of her clothes and onto the floor. The bloodthirsty act done, however, the great reptile departed from the house, unaware that it hid another inhabitant.

Samus lay motionless as the sounds of destruction tore through the small colony. Seconds, minutes, hours passed, and irritation developed between her legs from her soaked clothes, but she dared not move for fear of being discovered by some other savage horror like the one that had killed her mother. After a while, though, the sounds of battle subsided, and a few hours after that, silence swept over the now ruined colony. At this point, Samus was able to work up the courage to try to escape the debris that lay over top of her. This idea proved to be unwise as her first attempt shifted the unstable debris so that a significant mass of it fell directly on to her chest. A yelp of pain died in her throat as she lost consciousness.


	2. Grey Voice

Chapter 2: Grey Voice

As Samus lay incapacitated, she was plagued by nightmares. She dreamt that the horrible beast that had burst into her house and killed her mother now sat perched on her chest, staring down at her with cruel, reptilian eyes. Lack of air, rather than fear of being discovered, now prevented her from screaming. Breathlessly she struggled to coax sound from her throat and tried vainly to free herself from under the hulking form that sat leering over her, but stopped when she found that doing so sent sharp pain arcing across her chest. Resigned to immobility, she lay limp, gasping for what shallow breath the weight atop her would allow, staring into the bestial eyes above as the beating of her heart thundered in her ears.

Hours, then days seemed to pass as she endured an adrenaline-filled staring contest with the monstrous figure above her, until, when she was becoming unable to bear it any longer, she felt the weight of the creature vanish, as if it had been lifted from her. She then became aware that the winged reptile had dissolved into feathers, feathers that now fluttered around her tickled her face as the ground fell away beneath her. She floated freely through the air, the pain in her chest somewhat lessened. The removal of the beast's weight from her chest had relieved her of the sense that she was in immediate danger, and she was able to slip into a more relaxed, dreamless sleep.

The next image to enter Samus' awareness was that of the faces of two bizarre creatures leaning over her as she lay on her back upon a metal table. They seemed to be the size of full-grown men, if not somewhat larger, but their heads were like those of birds. The two were conversing animatedly in a language incomprehensible to Samus and unlike any language she had ever heard. One looked down into her eyes, tilted its head to one side, and continued to speak with its fellow as it pressed something into her arm that she could not see. As he did so, her thoughts peeled apart and fell into a confused jumble of feathers, bird-headed men, and incoherent babbling in alien tongues.

When Samus awoke, the first thing she noticed was that the pain in her chest had gone. A brief look around her additionally revealed that she was lying in a hospital bed, and across the room from her sat one of the large bird-headed creatures she had glimpsed during her earlier hazy bout of consciousness. She started and gasped at the sight of it. She had heard people talk about non-human sentients before, but had only dimly understood what they had meant. Seeing one now for the first time with clear senses came as a great shock to her.

Having noticed her movement, the strange creature rose from his chair and strode over toward the bed, coming to a stop behind the next bed over. When, he spoke, it was in grammatically perfect English, but with an accent that indicated that he had physiology that was poorly adapted to its pronunciation.

"What is your name, hatchling?" he said gently, barely audible from the respectful distance he kept.

Samus stared back at him wide-eyed, considering whether to respond. Every caution from her mother about talking to strange people-and this person was nothing if not strange-ran through her head. Nevertheless, the expression on the face of the being before her, though patient, was expectant. He might take refusal to respond as an insult, he might get angry, and then who knew what he might do? She lay with conflicted thoughts and a frozen expression for several seconds, yearning to be in the protective arms of her mother, to have responsibility for the encounter to be deferred elsewhere. The bird-like creature, to her surprise, did not seem put off by her hesitation, but instead bowed swiftly and deeply to her.

"I am sorry," he said, "I have been rude in asking for your name without offering my own. My native name may be hard for you to remember at first, but in English, you may call me Grey Voice."

The girl was sufficiently disarmed by this unexpected display of humility that she was able to work up the courage to give a weak response of "S-Samus Aran."

Grey Voice bowed yet again. "A beautiful name for a young girl. That will be my only question at this time. For now, you may ask me anything you like, and I will answer as well as I am able."

Samus' curiosity overcame her uncertainty, and questions burst forth from her mouth at such an alarming rate that Grey Voice had to make her slow down and start from the beginning again.

Once she had calmed down somewhat, she was able to learn a great deal. The answer to the first question, however, brought with it the most pain.

"Where are Mama and Papa?" asked the child, her face betraying the dread she had of the answer she might receive.

Grey Voice paused. This question was the first he had expected, and yet he was still unprepared to deliver such harsh news to a mere child. He finally decided that there was no dressing it up to dull the pain, gritted his beak, and replied, "Your parents, and everyone else on your colony except you, are gone. You are the only one still alive."

Ice froze her blood and her thoughts as she lay in shocked non-comprehension. Her heartbeat swelled in her ears as her young mind struggled with the idea of her utter aloneness. Then, all at once, the ice melted, welling up inside her and bursting forth from her eyes in the form of hot tears, accompanied by wailing of the sort of timbre that only comes from a distraught child. Grey Voice stood silently by, knowing that it was beyond his power to bring her comfort. At long last, her song of grief began a decrescendo, and she collapsed on the bed, exhausted. It was some time before she was in a condition to speak again.

Once Samus had recovered her energy, however, the following questions strayed to less emotional topics and thus progressed more quickly. From these, she was able to find out that Grey Voice was of a species called the Chozo, and that she was in the sick bay of a research ship on which he was chief surgeon. The crew of the ship had detected a distress beacon and arrived on K-2L to find her grievously injured, the sole survivor of the colony.

Her final question was syntactically simple, but demanded a complex answer: "What now?"

Grey Voice paused momentarily, carefully formulating a response, then began, "We could give you over to the Galactic Federation. If we did, you would be put into foster care. At your age, you would most likely stay in that system, because most adoptive families prefer younger children. Many foster homes in the Federation are warm, nurturing environments. Many are not. My crew-mates and I have discussed this matter at length. If you do not object, we think you would have a better experience being raised by one of our people. I assure you that there are those among our community who would gladly raise you as if you were their own. The conditions on our planet are harsh, but we will do our best to assure that on our planet you are not only safe, but comfortable.

"I know this is a great deal to take in, and we understand that you may not be comfortable being raised among those not of your species. You will be given time to give all this information consideration, and decide what you want to do."

With that, he bowed once more and left the room, and Samus was left alone with her thoughts. For having been awake for so short a time, she was exhausted from absorbing so much information and from crying so hard. In her tired mind, however, the beginnings of a choice had begun to form.


	3. Taboo

Chapter 3: Taboo

Stone Talon, the head of the research party in charge of the Chozo vessel, was perusing the data that had been recorded during the voyage when Grey Voice entered his quarters. Stone Talon looked up from his console to the visitor, albeit glancing back every so often to continue reading.

"Ah, Grey Voice," he said, motioning for the physician to sit down. "How is your patient faring?"

"She is now in good health. I wish I could also say good spirits, but that is more than can be hoped for right now," replied Grey Voice, his expression wistful. He shook his head and resumed a more formal countenance. "She has also made her choice."

"Oh?" said Stone Talon, an increased interest revealed in his eyes.

Grey Voice nodded. "She has elected to live among the Chozo."

"I see." Stone Talon shifted his weight in his chair to fill a pause. "What was it specifically that you told her?"

Grey Voice's eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting that I deliberately misinformed her?"

Stone Talon matched his gaze with a mild, matter-of-fact expression. "I am merely wondering if you could have exaggerated some things in your excitement."

For a moment, an observer of the scene might have half-expected a spark to jump from Grey Voice's eyes and incinerate Stone Talon on the spot. The ship's physician managed to retain his composure, however, and when he spoke again the trace of rage that had briefly surfaced was gone.

"I merely told her that her chances in the Federation foster care system were uncertain, and that she could find a home among our people. I implied that our community was a more nurturing place than the Federation, but I daresay you don't disagree with that assessment."

Stone Talon folded his hands. "I do not disagree with it. However, asking someone to take in a child is a great imposition. Who would have her?"

"I can think of at least one," replied Grey Voice.

Stone Talon raised his brow. "Yourself?"

Grey Voice shook his head. "I would, but she deserves better than the stability I can offer as a ship's physician. I had another in mind."

Stone Talon nodded. "I figured as much. I know the one of whom you speak. He's a peculiar one, but it seems you subscribe to his school of thought, yes?"

"I do," Grey Voice said, briefly stiffening.

Ignoring the reaction. Stone Talon proceeded. "The other concern, of course, is how well she will fit into our society. She is not one of us."

"Actually," said Grey Voice, "to an extent, she is."

Stone Talon completely froze. His brow furrowed. For a time he looked at Grey Voice and said nothing. When no elaboration was offered, he was forced to speak. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Grey Voice closed his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking, steeling himself for what was to come. "When the girl was brought to sick bay, her injuries were extensive. Massive internal bleeding, pervasive tissue damage...her organs were going to fail if they did not have large sections of tissue replaced immediately. Naturally, I had no human tissue available, so I...," he paused and steeled himself once more and then continued, "I used Chozo tissue to patch up her body."

Stone Talon jumped up from his chair, his eyes on fire. "You did _what_!?" he bellowed. Receiving only stolid silence in reply, he continued, "As a physician you in particular should appreciate the severity of such an action. Have you no respect for the ancient laws governing biological experiments? I could easily accuse you of attempting to engineer a new species, Grey Voice. Tell me, what was going through your head when you decided to make this girl into this abomination, this...chimera?"

"I had a life in my care, one I could save without bringing harm to any other living thing. I acted with a clear conscience, and I will gladly bear whatever consequences result from my actions."

"Will she?" said Stone Talon, eyes fixed upon Grey Voice's.

Grey Voice nodded, "She probably won't even notice. She'll likely be hardier and stronger than normal for a human, and possibly somewhat taller than she would have been otherwise, but beyond that I can conceive of no visible side effects that could occur."

Stone Talon's brow furrowed once more. "Do you intend not to tell her?"

"I intend to tell her guardian and leave it to their discretion."

"I see." Stone Talon sank back into his chair and rested his face in his hands. For a long time he was silent, then at long last he raised his head back up. "How long were you planning on keeping this from me?"

"I took the first opportunity that presented itself."

"What of your staff?"

"I convinced those involved to let me tell you myself and take full responsibility. In fact, I may have to ask you to confirm to them that I have. Otherwise they might come to you themselves when we land."

Stone Talon let out a sigh. "Well, Grey Voice, I see you have been as forthright in this matter as you could be expected to be. Because I think you are a fine surgeon and you have shown nothing but exemplary character in the past, this shall remain between us."

Grey Voice bowed his head. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't take this as free license to overstep your bounds. Further infractions will not be tolerated."

Grey Voice stood, bowed again, and left.


End file.
